Most likely if you're a broke college student just like I am, you have a summer job, maybe even two. A full time job is a huge time commitment and frankly a 40 hour work week can be exhausting. The best way to add light to the stress of working when you're supposed to be on vacation is handling it with humor. Regardless of whether you actually like your job or not you should be able to relate to some of these feelings. Personally I love my job but day after day you can really get run down. Here are just a few struggles of working in the summer:
1. When someone asks how your day is going.
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How are you supposed to answer a question like this calm and collectively when you've slept about 12 hours in 3 days? You haven't had your coffee yet and put on a brave face to use your big girl manners.
2. When people expect sympathy about a work schedule that's not nearly as many hours as yours.
While your working your butt off 8 hours every day, a friend of yours may be whining over their 4 hour closing shift. Granted any shift is tiring but when its their only shift that week and your patience is thin, your ability to sympathize is really worn down.
3. Your food options are limited and there's not much you can do about it.
You could've packed yourself a nice lunch, but you didn't, and now you have 45 minutes to decide whether you want the usual from the local sub shop or not. For the fourth time this week, pizza it is.
4. When you're trying to explain something to a customer and they're just not getting it.
You've explained the situation about three times. To explain it another time would make things totally uncomfortable and awkward and you just don't know what to do. You can't figure out where you went wrong in your explanation, maybe you don't really get it yourself. You're doing your best though.
5. When you realize you already spent your whole paycheck for the week.
It's payday and you have bills to pay. There's now gas in your car, coffee in your hand, and possibly a few pair of new summer shorts in your backseat. The problem is your back to being broke and you don't have money for lunch tomorrow. Maybe you'll do better next week.
6. When you tell yourself you're going to go to the gym after work but all you really want to do is eat.
You've worked all day and you've thought to yourself that when your free, you would do something productive. If time is money then you should use your free time away from work wisely, right? The second you get home you realize that you really just want to lay in bed and stuff your face. That's okay, you worked a long day, maybe you'll do better tomorrow.
7. When you just really want that raise/new position.
You've heard around the block that there's a manager position opening up, more importantly with a pay raise. You want this job, you really do and you're willing to fight for it.
8. When you try to justify the massive amount of hours you work.
When you sit down and think about it you really can't figure out why you work as much as you do. You need money but is money everything? Then you realize that that's just life. You're an adult now and you need to be able to support yourself. It's okay to take some pride in that.
9. When you're in your work uniform but your hair still looks good.
90% of the time when you're at work you look like you've gotten hit by a bus. Every once in awhile, you pull off an awesome hair day even if the uniform is less than flattering.
10. When you don't get nearly enough sleep but you still have that 9-5 shift.
Sometimes you just really don't think you're going to make it through a death shift. The truth is that you'll make it, slowly but surely.
11. When your shift ends at 10 and a customer comes in at 9:58.
You're just about to start closing up, you've been at work all day and you're so close to getting to go home. A customer decides to come in at the last minute and you really can't turn them away but also you don't know if you can emotionally handle staying any later.
12. When you mess something up but really can't afford to get fired.
You make mistakes sometimes, maybe a lot of the time. You're learning and that happens but you really don't want it to effect your job.
13. When you bond with the other newbies hired with you.
You and some fellow coworkers all got hired at the same time. Everything the other employees try to explain to you is just like speaking Greek. There's nothing better than bonding over your shared confusion.
14. When a customer makes a really bad joke but you have to pretend to be amused.
Customers have a habit of liking to make small talk and they really mean well by it. If you're a naturally friendly person, this is only a perk of the job. However, there are some people who would rather keep things strictly business and they have to do their best to grin and bear the awkward jokes.
15. At the end of the day you wouldn't trade it because there are plenty of pros that go along with the cons.
You're making money, you're being independent and you're supporting yourself. You've become a part of something much bigger than you and at the end of the day you're doing a service for someone else. Take pride in that and all the benefits that come along with it.
